NASCAR EXCLUSIVE: How Natalie Decker Overcame Her Medical Barriers With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Break Into NASCAR

It takes a lot of effort to be a professional motorsports athlete. And if you’re suffering from an auto-immune disease, the work becomes just that much more difficult. Overcoming such serious illnesses and pursuing your dream is truly inspirational and one of the racers who has been able to do that is Natalie Decker. In an Exclusive Interview with EssentiallySports, the 26-year-old spoke about her troubles with rheumatoid arthritis and how she kept it in check as much as possible to pursue her dream of being a motorsports athlete in NASCAR.

As Decker mentioned in the Exclusive Interview, doctors play a big role in determining whether you will be able to pursue your dreams. She stressed the need to find doctors who are supportive of one’s goals. The 26-year-old was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was only 2 years old, but a supportive and nurturing environment was created by her parents and her doctors so that she could grow up with her dreams still intact. Decker also stressed the need to put one’s health over everything else.

“Be an advocate for yourself and find a doctor that you love and that supports your decisions and goals in life. It took me years, 4 years, to find doctors that supported my decisions and my goals, which are racing and NASCAR and they love it, they support me so much and they want that for me just as much as I want it for me so it works really well. But overall, my health comes first and as soon as I started doing that, it got easier, managing my health, my racing, and work, and my lifestyle, family, and friends, all of it got easier once I just started putting my health first,” she said in the Exclusive with EssentiallySports.

Furthermore, it’s important to understand what an auto-immune disease is and what a person needs as they navigate their way through life, and often, it can be difficult for people without such conditions to understand it. Well, Natalie Decker laid out a theory that explains just how she feels on most days and it’s supremely impressive that she can race despite those conditions.

The flu-like symptoms that Natalie Decker has to overcome almost every single day

The 26-year-old compared the symptoms to those of the flu: fever, chills, body aches, and fatigue. The only difference is that with rheumatoid arthritis, these symptoms have to be dealt with almost every single day of the patient’s life. Decker even said that she had to drink a can of Red Bull before the chat with EssentiallySports as she was feeling a bit drained since she woke up.

These conditions are perhaps unthinkable for those who have never faced such diseases, so it’s quite inspirational on the 26-year-old’s part to not give up on racing. “There’s this thing called the spoon theory, and there is this girl who made it up and it’s where you have 10 spoons in the morning, and maybe I only wake up with 7 spoons. And then you go and you shower and get ready for work, and you still have your 10 spoons, or maybe you have 9. Maybe you’re a little tired after that. And then I woke up with 7, I didn’t have all 10, and I shower, I get ready, I make breakfast, I’m going to work.”

“And I’m already down to 5 and these spoons are a measure of energy. The best way to explain an auto-immune disease, you know when you get the flu and your whole body hurts, you have a low-grade fever or you have the chills, you have body aches and you’re fatigued, you have brain fog, and you can’t really focus, that’s what auto-immune diseases feel like 80% of your life,” Decker added.

It’s safe to say that life has not been fair to Natalie Decker, but she has made the most of every opportunity. It’s a shame she won’t be running at Talladega due to sponsorship issues, but when she makes her comeback, her fans will be right there supporting her to the fullest extent.

Catch Natalie Decker live on the “Lucky Dog on Track” social media handles for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Live Watch party at Talladega, presented by Fan-Controlled.